Women’s 1/2 Report Cards

I want to start this article by congratulating Subzero. They won the Canadian national 5v5 flag championships last weekend, defeating Les Bleus. It is pretty cool that we now have the official team Canada playing in the Women’s division this season.

I had a backlog of articles to get through, but it is now finally time to turn my attention to the report cards for the Women’s. While these are clearly no longer mid-season reports, I do think this is the perfect time to take a look at how each team is shaping up for the playoffs. Each team will receive a grade, from A through D. I will be evaluating teams based on both their performance so far as well as how they have fared compared to expectation. Let’s get started!

Women’s 1 Report Cards

Subzero (8-0)

Expectations grade: A +

Performance grade: A +

I remember musing a while ago if Subzero were not only the best team in the division, but also the best women’s team in Canada. I now have clear evidence that the answer to that question is yes. There is really not much else to say about this team. They are the best team in Canada, the best team in the Women’s division and it is only a matter of time until they are crowned champions.

They have the statistical performances to back up their impressive record as well. They have thrown for 50 touchdowns and no interceptions. Laurence Pontbriand is the top receiver in the division and is on track to reach over 800 yards and nearly 20 scores. As a matter of fact, one of the only categories where they are not leading in is interceptions.

When a team is this good it is hard to say very much about them or heap any more praise on top of what has already been said. The only thing I would say is go out and watch this team play. It is pretty rare that you can watch team Canada play and even rarer to watch them play in your own league.

WOS (8-1)

Expectations grade: A +

Performance grade: A 

This WOS has definitely surprised me. I recognized a few names and thought they were going to be decent but I definitely did not see them jumping out to a 7-1 record. As a matter of fact, their only loss has come against Subzero and you can hardly even consider that a loss. The bad news for WOS is that they are facing off against Subzero for a second time in week 10, which likely means their record will fall to 8-2 but I think that is actually a blessing in disguise for this team. Everyone knows that it will be WOS and Subzero facing off in the finals so having an extra tuneup game so this WOS can be better equipped to try and pull off a miracle does not hurt.

This team has gotten key contributions from players across the board. Mathilde Sybille and Béatrice Bouchard are both at 450 receiving yards which is a hugely impressive accomplishment. Defensively, Sydney Roche is leading the charge. She is one of the top DBs in the division and has seven picks and five PDs on the season. All in all, it is unlikely that any team will be able to topple the mighty Subzero, but if anyone has a chance it is this WOS team. 

The Rock (3-5)

Expectations grade: C

Performance grade: B –

This season has not gone according to plan for this The Rock team. They have not won any games versus Women’s 1 teams and have struggled to beat Women’s 2 teams. They even lost to the Wildcats. That being said, The Rock were in a tricky situation. When registering they could have been one of the top teams in W2 or one of the bottom teams in W1 and they did the honorable thing and registered in W1. The going has been rough for this team. They have only thrown for 21 scores all while being intercepted 13 times. Despite this season not going to plan, a star has been born on this The Rock team. Stephanie Langheit has been on an absolute tear. She is second in the division with 600 receiving yards and has 10 scores to go along with it. 

On the bright side, this team has two easier games to close out the season and I fully expect to see them improve to 5-5.

Women’s 2 Report Cards

Wildcats (7-1)

Expectations grade: A +

Performance grade: A 

This Wildcats team is the cream of the crop in the Women’s two division. While lots of teams are stuck in the middle of the pack in W2, Wildcats have elevated themselves heads and shoulders above the rest and are definitely looking like the odds on favorites to win it all.

This is a high risk, high reward team and that has been working for them this season. They love airing it out and are averaging over 13 yards per completion and have thrown for a very impressive 32 scores in the process. On the down side, that high octane style also comes with its fair share of risks. They have been picked off 13 times in 8 games, which is over 1.5 picks a game. If this team can find a way to keep on scoring all while limiting the turnovers they will go from title favorites to a lock to win it all.

My favorite part about this team is their defence. They have a legion of ballhawks lurking in their backfield all just waiting to pick off opposing QBs. They have 20 interceptions on the season. Alexandra Ladouceur is leading the charge with six picks and 12 defended passes. Tamara Journeau is not far behind with five picks. This team might throw a lot of interceptions, but they make up for it by producing even more. 

Les P’tites Miettes (5-4)

Expectations grade: B +

Performance grade: B +

This is one of the more impressive storylines of the season. Les P’tites Miettes got off to a disastrous start to their season with three straight losses. They have since turned things around and are now the second best team in this division in my opinion. With their final game of the season coming against X&X, this team appears to be a lock to finish with a 6-4 record and lock up the second seed. 

After allowing nearly 30 points a game over their three game losing streak to start the season this team needed to turn things around on the defensive side of the ball and Rachel Shea decided to make that her responsibility. She has six picks, which is six times more than anyone else on this team, and is their defensive leader. However, if Les P’tites Miettes want to go from good to great, they will need to start getting defensive production from someone other than Shea. While she has impressed with her six picks, the rest of the time has two interceptions combined. 

Supernova (4-4)

Expectations grade: B +

Performance grade: B 

Unlike Les P’tites Miettes this Supernova team got off to a great start to the season but has been struggling a little bit more as of late. One of the more concerning stats for this team is their +/- differential which is currently sitting at -24. It is very rare that you see teams with a negative differential make a deep playoff run. Simply put, this team has struggled to put points on the board and has had an even harder time avoiding turnovers. They have thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. On the bright side, they have been able to compensate for their offensive struggles with a strong defence. They have picked off just as many passes as they have thrown so at least they are breaking even in that department! Alexann Leblanc deserves credit for leading that defence with her five picks and three sacks. If this team can solve their quarterback issues they would be one of the best teams in the division.

Red Nation (3-5-1)

Expectations grade: B –

Performance grade: B 

This Red Nation team was a dark horse contender and I really thought they could turn some heads in the playoffs. That all changed when Rachelle Vallieres went down injured. She was their best player and arguably the best player in the Women’s 2 division. Replacing her will be next to impossible.

This team has also struggled with the turnover bug. Be it Allyson Sobol or Lamees Aljoundi, we have seen more interceptions than touchdowns come out of this team. Contrary to previous seasons, the defence has been a bright spot for this Red Nation team. With 20 interceptions on the season they definitely have one of the best secondaries. However, Vallieres accounted for eight of those picks. This team needed a combination of Vallieres’ heroics and improved QB play to have a legitimate shot at the title, and they have already lost half of that. 

Wolfpack (3-5)

Expectations grade: B –

Performance grade: B 

While many teams in the middle and lower half of the W2 standings have been rotating through QBs and struggling with turnovers, that is not the case for Wolfpack. Camille Dumas has thrown every single pass for this team and has managed to complete more touchdowns than she has thrown interceptions! It definitely helps when you have two dominant receivers like Marielle Paradis and Maryse Paquette on the team. Both of those two have been lighting it up this season and have over 425 receiving yards. Those two half also accounted for nine interceptions and 12 defended passes. The issue is this Wolfpack team has been getting very little production, offensively or defensively, from their other players. 

B.I.T. (3-5)

Expectations grade: B –

Performance grade: B –

While most teams in W2 have a weaker offence that is bailed out by their defence, it is the opposite for B.I.T. Their offence has been outperforming their defence by a wide margin. While Athena Ryan has struggled at limiting her interceptions, she has thrown 16, she has also been putting up solid offensive numbers. She is on track to throw for nearly 1,500 yards and 20 scores. Maria Mansseri has been a big reason behind that success with 421 receiving yards and 5 scores. The issues with this team are defensive. They have only recorded six sacks and have conceded over 20 points a game. If this team can manage to tighten things up defensively, they could turn some heads in the playoffs.

Blue Thunder (2-6)

Expectations grade: B – 

Performance grade: C +

This team from Champlain impressed me in the opening weeks of the season. They showed grit in their wins against Les P’tites Miettes and Touch Down For What? and I really thought that this team might be destined for greatness. Clearly, I jinxed them because those two wins are still their only wins this season. They have thrown seven more interceptions than they have produced and have the third worst points differential in the division with a – 91. This team was finding ways to win in the first two weeks but they have not been able to recapture that same energy since.

X&X (1-6-1)

Expectations grade: B 

Performance grade: C +

While this has not been an easy season for X&X, they do deserve credit from improving. They started off this season looking like they were going to go winless. They now have a win, a tie and a strong shot at securing the last playoff spot. A huge amount of the credit for what this team has accomplished needs to be given to Maya Di Fazio. While she has struggled as a quarterback, she has been one of if not the best defenders in this division. Her ten interceptions are the most of any player in W1 or W2 and she has single handedly produced more picks than some teams have. Offensively, Olivia Stewart has been the star of the show with over 450 receiving yards and four scores. While this team is unlikely to win a playoff game, they are clearly trending in the right direction and could be in store for success if they chose to return for another season.

Touch Down For What? (1-6)

Expectations grade: C +

Performance grade: C –

The season has not gone as planned for this team composed of mainly new players. That being said, it is not all bad news. Despite the fact they have only passed for ten scores, they can be proud of the fact they have just turned the ball over six times, which is one of the lowest amounts in the entire division. Elena Eid has also established herself as a star receiver. She has caught 80% of her teams touchdowns and yas totaled over 400 receiving yards. Defensively, things have been a bit more of a struggle for this team. They have only managed to produce five picks and two of those came from a sub, Laurie St-Pierre. You cannot help but feel like this defence would benefit from a few more seasons of FPF experience and knowledge. Despite all of that, this team still controls their own destiny. With three games still to play they could climb as high as fifth place if they win out. While winning out might be difficult, this team does have a chance of beating the Wolfpack this week and potentially snatching the final playoff spot out from under X&X’s noses.

With that, my report card journey has finally come to an end, for this season at least! I am again sorry for how long these took to get out, but on the bright side they gave me the chance to thoroughly review each division before the playoffs.

As always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions, concerns or comments at [email protected]

Good luck to everyone this week and stay tuned for your week 9 recap article which should be coming out this weekend.